It reminds me of something Ben Franklin once wrote :

"Any society that would give up a little liberty to gain a little security will deserve neither and lose both."

Because 4 is so much more than 3???

Now that is a sounds solution...
I say bill them incrementally each time it is called.

I am sure it will eventually reach a price that solves the problem for the person.

Hey vicioushobbit since at this point you have already been able to dial 911 you probably able to handle the extra button. And if all you can do is gasp and not speak I seriously doubt 9 seconds will matter since you will not be able to communicate with the person who answers..
Since you will have called from your cell phone they will not know instantly where you are at to send help... It will take them longer than 9 seconds to determine that alone.

BTW you still need to say something or push a button ... 9 seconds is just the length of the recording that tells you to speak or press button..
It is not the delay to the person ..

I would guess if your Child is smart enough to operate the cell phone they will be able to handle pushing a extra button or saying something. I know when I was in kindergarden we had to learn/memorize all 7 numbers to call the police and all 7 numbers to call the Fire Dpt. I am sure current children can handle 3 numbers then talking or pushing another button.

The 9 seconds only applies if you wait patiently for the recorded message to complete before pushing a button or saying anything. If you have a real emergency I suggest not waiting for it to finish.

I would be happy to.

Although I find it hard to believe that you could not think of any uses for flashing lights.

Flashing lights are often used to get attention. Any Kmart shopper can knows what a flashing blue light can be used for.

Many facilities such as factories and distribution centers use these type of lights for safety purposes. In fact If you drive by the lumber mill on Nw expressway & Irvington rd after dark you will see a flashing blue light at work. I assume it is to keep people from losing a limb.

OSHA has no shortages of uses for Red flashing lights. In fact if you are ever around heavy equipment and and need it to stop you can trigger the e-stop(emergency stop) which by law will trigger red flashing lights.

Besides safety they can be used for decoration. Bowling alleys often have a "cosmic", "laser" or some similar bowling night where it is dark except flashing lights and black lights.

Bars and clubs also use these lights as decor as well as some arcade video games. Ever been to a casino?? The top of the slot machines will have the red and blue flashing lights. Each color a different meaning.

All aircraft in the US are required to have red (left side wing), blue(right side wing ) and white(rear tail) colored , flashing strobe lights. These lights would work wonderfully for such a ruse.

Also I believe all boats are required to have red and blue lights.

In the end there is nothing special about the lights. In fact based on this story we have no idea what kind were used. Any light could be used in than manner this creep used them. It is a pretty basic circuit to make lights flash or alternate. In fact that was one of the lessons back when I took electricity class in high school.

Maybe what you think the lights in this story refers to are the light bar that is often on top of emergency vehicles. We know that to not be the case since the car was thought to be an "unmarked car" . No unmarked car ever has such a light bar.

But even if that were the case they could have come from another state. The light colors have different purposes in varying states. For example in Illinois blue is fire department/Emt . So volunteering for a fire dept or ambulance service allows you to have such a light on/in your car. Red is reserved for Police but in other states the colors are reversed. Ohio for example Blue is for police.

These lights do have legitimate purposes.
The problem isn't someone is selling lights.
It is someone is misusing them.

Since a car is also involved are you suggesting they prosecute automobile dealerships also???

We understand what he/she was saying. It just isn't relative to a story about runaway awareness. There are plenty of articles relevant to the economy, war or the direction our country is going. They would be the appropriate place to post your opinions on those subjects.

I fail to see how runaway awareness affects the budget, has anything to do with any war or the evolution of the country.